Olivia
Character Analysis

A beautiful noblewoman in Illyria. At the beginning of the play, she has rejected both Orsino and her ridiculous suitor, Sir Andrew Aguecheek. In mourning for her recently deceased brother, she has vowed not to receive any man, or to go outside, for seven years. However, when she meets Cesario (Viola in her male costume) she falls in love and forgets these oaths. Olivia's mourning for her brother therefore resembles Orsino's love-melancholy: it seems more like a performance than a real, deeply felt emotion. Like Orsino, she seems to enjoy indulging in misery, and also has no problem shifting the object of love from one person to the next.

Olivia Quotes in Twelfth Night

The Twelfth Night quotes below are all either spoken by Olivia or refer to Olivia. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).
Note: all page and citation info for the quotes below refers to the Simon & Schuster edition of Twelfth Night published in 2004.

Act 1, scene 5
Quotes

Lady, you are the cruell'st she aliveIf you will lead these graces to the graveAnd leave the world no copy.

Related Characters:Viola (Cesario) (speaker), Olivia

Related Themes:

Page Number and Citation:
1.5.240-242

Explanation and Analysis:

Viola enters Olivia's home dressed as Cesario, in order to attempt to woo her for Duke Orsino. The two begin a playful tete-a-tete. Here, Viola tries to appeal to Olivia by telling her how beautiful she is—so beautiful that it would be a disservice to the world not to produce an heir (and thus a new "copy" of her beauty). In a grand performance, Viola compliments Olivia's physical beautify in order to gain her trust and influence her to fall for Orsino. She also speaks in the convention of "poetic blazon," a form often used in sonnets, where the speaker itemizes and examines different parts of the body. Her speech mimics that of Shakespeare's own sonnets, revealing the poetic and hyperbolic nature of love and lust. Furthermore, in doing so, Viola-as-Cesario demonstrates a certain level of mystery and intelligence to Olivia that Orsino doesn't possess. She speaks in a genuine and advanced poetic way, whereas Orsino is often cliched.

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Unlock explanations and citation info for this and every other Twelfth Night quote.

Make me a willow cabin at your gateAnd call upon my soul within the house;Write loyal cantons of contemned loveAnd sing them loud even in the dead of night;Halloo your name to the reverberate hillsAnd make the babbling gossip of the airCry out 'Olivia!' O, You should not restBetween the elements of air and earthBut you should pity me.

Related Characters:Viola (Cesario) (speaker), Orsino, Olivia

Related Themes:

Page Number and Citation:
1.5.271-279

Explanation and Analysis:

In an attempt to get Olivia to fall in love with Orsino, Cesario (Viola) describes what he would do if he loved Olivia as much as Orsino. In a beautiful speech he tells her that he would write endless poems of his love, sing them through the night and scream her name so loudly that the air would echo the sound of "Olivia." In her speech, Viola-As-Cesario does something Orsino cannot; she says the right thing to make Olivia fall in love. Juxtaposed against Orsino's cliche speeches on love and lust, Viola's are much more creative and subtle. She performs less, and rather actually imagines what it means to be in love. She also uses natural imagery, suggesting that her love is simple and truthful. What is more, as a woman, Viola understands the needs and interests of other women. Being of the same gender, she is able to find ways to appeal to Olivia that differ from Orsino's.

Be not afraid of greatness: Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.

Related Characters:Olivia (speaker), Malvolio (speaker)

Related Themes:

Page Number and Citation:
2.5.148-150

Explanation and Analysis:

Malvolio reads the love letter that he thinks is from Olivia, as Maria, its true author, hides in a tree with Sir Andrew and Sir Toby, watching Malvolio embarrass himself. This iconic quote happens toward the end of the letter as an attempt to reveal who the author could be. Malvolio interprets this section to mean that he is one who could "achieve" greatness by marrying the noble-born Olivia (one who was "born great"). Thus the joke being played on Malvolio isn't just getting him to think someone loves him, but also getting him to attempt to rise above his station—flattering his arrogance and sense of superiority. Maria is trying to lift Malvolio up in order to ultimately persuade him to embarrass himself in front of the whole court and Olivia herself. Here we see both the power of words and just how far the performance of love can go in Twelfth Night. Malvolio becomes smitten by his secret admirer simply from her hyperbolic and romantic words.

Cesario and Olivia are alone. When Olivia asks him to introduce himself once again, he says he is a humble "servant." This leads Olivia into a series of wordplays on the idea of servitude, as she uses Cesario's own position as a servant as a mode of flirtation. Olivia admits her love for Cesario (not knowing he is actually Viola) and Cesario tries to politely turn her down. Olivia replies with this line, suggesting that the poor, or in this case, a servant, should not be too proud to accept the sexual advances of a noble lady like herself.

Here, Olivia uses her higher social position as a device to woo Cesario. She tries to convince him to be with her by claiming that it is better to fall before the "lion" than the "wolf"; to fall in love with the noble beast (Olivia) over the wild forest animal (a fellow servant). Here Cesario and Olivia use class to their own advantages. On one side, Cesario tries to use his place as a servant as a way to fight off Olivia, while Olivia uses it as a way to convince him, suggesting that he take advantage of her nobility.

Malvolio is love stricken with Olivia, and thinks that she has written him a love letter with instructions for how he should dress and comport himself (the letter was actually written by Maria). Here Malvolio enters, wearing yellow cross-gartered stockings and grinning from ear to ear (as the letter told him to do). Olivia, confused, asks Malvolio to stop, but he won't. Convinced her steward has gone mad, she then says this line. During Shakespeare's time the summer moon was thought to be a major influence on madness and insanity. Thus, having a "midsummer madness" was considered a kind of temporary insanity. Here Shakespeare shows us how easy it is to confuse love and desire with lunacy, as well as how easy it is for an individual to become a fool in the name of love.

Why have you suffered me to be imprisoned,Kept in a dark house, visited by the priest,And made the most notorious geck and gullThat e'er invention played on? Tell me why.

Related Characters:Malvolio (speaker), Olivia

Related Themes:

Page Number and Citation:
5.1.363-366

Explanation and Analysis:

Malvolio continues to be called mad and is mocked by the members of the court—even locked in a dark room (a traditional "treatment" for mental illness at the time). During this moment, Malvolio finally confronts Olivia about the writing of the love letter. After this speech, Olivia discovers that it was in fact Maria who wrote the letter, forging her handwriting, and the Fool who was in fact the "priest" visiting Malvolio.

Malvolio's plotline makes clear the connection between love and madness, and emphasizes the nature of revelry and wildness in the environment of Twelfth Night. At the same time, it also introduces some more troubling elements to the comedy—Malvolio is certainly arrogant, dull, and hates any kind of fun, but the punishment he suffers seems to far outweigh his "crimes," and the glee the other characters derive from his suffering often feels downright cruel. While the final revelation of the play's "disguises" is a cause for happiness among most of the characters, for Malvolio it only shows him how thoroughly he has been tricked and how cruelly he has been treated—and, as he says here, for seemingly no good reason.

Maria returns to announce that a young man at the gate wishes to speak with Olivia. Olivia asks if he has been sent by Orsino. Maria doesn't know. Olivia sends Malvolio...
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Malvolio returns and informs Olivia that the young man outside will not leave. Olivia asks what he is like. Malvolio...
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Cesario enters and recites ornate poetry about Olivia's "unmatchable beauty" (1.5.158). Olivia instructs him to get to the point. Cesario protests that he...
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Cutting Cesario off, Olivia asks what his own background is. Cesario replies that he is a gentleman by birth,...
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Once she is alone, Olivia admits to herself that she is extremely attracted to Cesario. She lists his beautiful features—"Thy...
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Act 2, scene 2

Malvolio catches up with Cesario. He gives Cesario the ring from Olivia and explains that Olivia doesn't want it and has nothing more to say to the...
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Alone, Viola picks up the ring and realizes that Olivia has fallen in love with "Cesario," and that by taking on her disguise she has...
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Act 2, scene 3

...Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek are up late, eating and drinking in a room in Olivia's house. Feste soon joins them, and they are all raucously singing together, when Maria shows...
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...Maria that if she respected her mistress, she would reprimand these lowlifes. Threatening to tell Olivia everything, he storms off. Maria is annoyed at Malvolio, but begs Sir Toby and Sir...
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...has a great idea for a prank on Malvolio. She boasts that she can imitate Olivia's handwriting perfectly, and will drop in Malvolio's way a love letter that Malvolio, in his...
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Act 2, scene 4

...that, if he is ever in love, he must remember and imitate Orsino's passion for Olivia. Noticing that Cesario seems moved by the music, Orsino then asks whether he is not...
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Orsino instructs Cesario to go woo Olivia once again on his behalf. Cesario suggests that Orsino give up. What if a woman...
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Act 2, scene 5

As Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Fabian, one of Olivia's attendants, wait in Olivia's garden, Maria runs in and instructs them all to conceal themselves...
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Malvolio enters, talking to himself. As it happens, he already believes that Olivia fancies him. Hiding in the tree, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Fabian try to suppress...
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When they are alone, Cesario says that he is Olivia's servant: he is Orsino's servant and Orsino belongs to Olivia. So, by extension, he does...
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Cesario responds that he pities Olivia but cannot love her—because, as he tells her, "I am not what I am" (3.1.138)....
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Act 3, scene 2

In another room of Olivia's house, Sir Andrew tells Sir Toby that he has finally decided to give up and...
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...instructed in Maria's letter, and making himself entirely ridiculous in the process. Maria comments that Olivia will probably hit Malvolio for his idiotic behavior and that, when she does, Malvolio will...
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Act 3, scene 4

In her garden, Olivia consults with Maria on how best to woo Cesario, who has agreed to come back...
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Malvolio enters wearing yellow cross-gartered stockings, smiling idiotically. Olivia scolds him for this behavior. However, he continues grinning and alluding to the letter which...
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...about Malvolio. Maria implies to Malvolio that he is acting crazily and reminds him that Olivia wanted him to remain in Sir Toby's care. Quickly losing patience, Malvolio dismisses the others...
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...to deliver it. When they learn from Maria that Cesario is at that moment visiting Olivia and is about to depart, Sir Toby convinces Sir Andrew to go lie in wait...
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Olivia enters with Cesario, apologizing for having said too much: she is so in love, she...
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Once Olivia has gone, Sir Toby and Fabian approach Cesario. Using all sorts of double entendre's about...
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